Renowned Grammy-winning artist Burna Boy has singled out a handful of veterans in the Nigerian music industry whom he holds in high esteem.
In an Instagram live session with his fans, the self-proclaimed ‘African Giant’ highlighted 2Baba, Timaya, D’banj, Larry Gaaga, and Wande Coal as the only legends he truly respects, citing their profound influence on his personal and professional journey.
Burna Boy’s remarks come in response to veteran producer ID Cabasa’s recent plea for contemporary Nigerian singers to pay homage to the trailblazers who paved the way for today’s musical landscape. By publicly lauding these select icons, Burna Boy not only acknowledges their enduring impact but also underscores the importance of recognizing and honoring the legacy of those who came before.
He said, “The only OGs who have impacted my life; number one, Timaya, because he is the one who showed me that achieving stardom was possible. I’m going to respect him for the rest of my life.
“D’banj also supported me back then. He paid for ‘Wan Da Mo’ video. These are two people I don’t joke with. It’s not like n*ggas don’t have respect, no, n*ggas have just been through a lot and we only remember the people we saw in the dark times. People like Larry Gaaga. He stood by me back then. So these are people I will respect for the rest of my life.
When you’re talking about OGs, as far as I’m concerned, those names are the only ones in addition to 2Face based on musicality and the fact that he did a feature with me when he didn’t have to back in the days. These are OGs to me. Any other person isn’t an OG to me. ID Cabasa, you can meet Olamide and you can be an OG to him [laughs]. We’ve all been through stuff differently and we all see life differently.
“I can’t forget Wande Coal, too. At a point in time, we were so close.”
